John Stanley Ragin (May 5, 1929 - April 14, 2013) was an American television and film actor. He was best known for his role as uptight, bureaucratic Dr. Robert Asten, M.E. in the TV series '' Quincy, M.E.'' (1976–83).

Early years

Ragin was born in Newark, New Jersey. He attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

on a scholarship but later changed to

Carnegie Tech Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a Private university, private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became t ...

. He studied in Europe with two grants from the

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

Career

Ragin appeared in mostly supporting roles in television series such as ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...

'', ''

The Invaders ''The Invaders'' is an American science fiction television series created by Larry Cohen that aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1967 to 1968. Roy Thinnes stars as David Vincent, who after stumbling across evidence of an in-progress invasi ...

'', ''

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

'', '' McCloud'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'' and '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. He also appeared in smaller roles in a few films such as ''

Earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

'', ''

The Parallax View ''The Parallax View'' is a 1974 American political thriller film starring Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, Hume Cronyn, William Daniels, Kenneth Mars, Walter McGinn, Kelly Thordsen and Jim Davis in support. Produced and directed by Alan ...

'' and '' Doctors' Wives''. Ragin played Walter Cramer in the short-lived 1974

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

TV series '' Sons and Daughters''. During 1990–91, he appeared briefly as Dr. Grant Jameson on the daytime NBC

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' Santa Barbara''.

Death

Ragin died in Los Angeles on April 14, 2013, at the age of 83. He was interred at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Forest Lawn may refer to: Cemeteries California * Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of cemeteries in southern California * Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), California * Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), California * Fore ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Filmography

Films

* ''Doctors' Wives'' (1971) .... Minister (uncredited) * ''Copernicus'' (1973) .... Narrator (voice) * ''

'' (1974) .... Buster Himan * ''

'' (1974) .... Chief Inspector * ''

Moving Violation A moving violation or traffic violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "moving" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include ...

'' (1976) .... Agent Shank

Television work

* ''

'' (1960) (Season 5 Episode 30: "Insomnia") .... Jack Fletcher * ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' (1 episode, 1960) .... Pettigrew * '' Naked City'' (1 episode, 1963) .... Mr. Warstein * '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' (1 episode, 1965) .... Lieutenant Swanson * '' The F.B.I.'' (4 episodes, 1966–1974) .... Gary Burgess * ''

Felony Squad ''The Felony Squad'' is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966, to January 31, 1969. Overview Sergeant Sam Stone and Detective Jim Briggs are investigators in a major crimes unit in a ...

'' (4 episodes, 1966–1968) .... Dr. Kern * ''Blue Light'' (2 episodes, 1966) .... Zimmer * '' Laredo'' (1 episode, 1966) .... Karl * ''The Invaders'' (2 episodes, 1967) .... John Finney * ''Love on a Rooftop'' (1 episode, 1967) .... Charlie * ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...

'' (2 episodes, 1968) .... Kendall * ''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...

'' (1 episode, 1968) .... Reverend Hastings * ''The Outsider'' (1 episode, 1968) .... Todd Elkins * '' Ironside'' (3 episodes, 1969–1972) .... Congressman Lowery * '' The Bold Ones: The New Doctors'' (2 episodes, 1969–1971) .... Dr. Gomrick * '' The Bold Ones: The Lawyers'' (3 episodes, 1969–1971) .... Arresting Officer * ''The Lonely Profession'' (1969, TV Movie) .... Mr. Sutton, FBI * '' Mission: Impossible'' .... (2 episodes, 1970) .... Pharmacist / Butler * ''

The Most Deadly Game ''The Most Deadly Game'' is an American television series that ran for 12 episodes from 1970 to 1971. The series was produced by Aaron Spelling Productions, with Aaron Spelling as the executive producer. It stars Yvette Mimieux, Ralph Bellamy ...

'' (1 episode, 1970) .... Biff Porter * ''

Storefront Lawyers ''Storefront Lawyers'' (also known as ''Men at Law'') is an American legal drama that ran from September 1970 to January 1971 and February 1971 to March 1971 on CBS. The series starred Robert Foxworth, Sheila Larken, David Arkin, and A Mart ...

'' (2 episodes, 1971) .... Spencer Pawling / Attorney * ''Powderkeg'' (1971) .... Muncie - hotel clerk * ''

Night Gallery ''Night Gallery'' is an American anthology television series that aired on NBC from December 16, 1970, to May 27, 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, '' The Twilight Zon ...

'' (1 episode, 1971) .... 1st Policeman (segment "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar") * ''The Forgotten Man'' (1971, TV Movie) .... Major Parkman * ''

Alias Smith and Jones ''Alias Smith and Jones'' is an American Western television series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel (and, after Duel's death, Roger Davis) as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy ...

'' (1 episode, 1971) .... Edward Fielding * ''

Cool Million ''Cool Million'' is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC as an element in its "wheel series" '' The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie'' during its 1972–73 schedule. Synopsis James Farentino starred as Jefferson Keyes, a former agent i ...

'' (1 episode, 1972) .... Fred Harrison * ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective fiction, detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law. They run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, Califor ...

'' (2 episodes, 1973–1975) .... Eddie R. Davis * ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that originally aired for eight seasons on CBS from September 16, 1967, to March 13, 1975. The show was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer ...

'' (1 episode, 1973) .... Burns * '' Sons and Daughters'' (9 episodes, 1974) .... Walter Cramer * ''

The Six Million Dollar Man ''The Six Million Dollar Man'' is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After being seriously injured in a NASA test f ...

'' (1 episode, 1974) .... Flight Director * ''

'' (1 episode, 1974) .... Chief Inspector * '' Killer Bees'' (1974, TV Movie) .... Sergeant Jeffreys * ''Love Is Not Forever'' (1974, TV Movie) .... Walter Cramer * ''

The Rookies ''The Rookies'' is an American police procedural series created by Rita Lakin that originally aired on ABC from September 11, 1972, to March 30, 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for ...

'' (1 episode, 1975) .... Bryan McNeal * ''

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

'' (1 episode, 1975) .... Len Ekhardt * ''Delancey Street: The Crisis Within'' (1975, TV Movie) .... Jeff Donaldson * ''

Quincy M.E. ''Quincy, M.E.'' (also called ''Quincy'') is an American mystery medical drama television series from Universal Studios that was broadcast on NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman starred in the title role as a Los Angeles Coun ...

'' (144 episodes, 1976–1983) .... Dr. Robert Astin * '' McCloud'' (1 episode, 1976) .... Mr. Jessup * ''

Harry O ''Harry O'', sometimes spelled ''Harry-O'', is an American private detective series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen, and Jerry Thorpe was executive producer. ''Harry O'' followed the broad ...

'' (1 episode, 1976) .... John Wesler * '' City of Angels'' (1 episode, 1976) .... Robert Sand * ''The Amazing Howard Hughes'' (1977, TV Movie) .... McKenna * ''The Islander'' (1978, TV Movie) .... Bishop Hatch * ''

B.J. and the Bear ''B. J. and the Bear'' is an American action comedy television series which aired on NBC from February 10, 1979, to May 9, 1981. Created by Glen A. Larson and Christopher Crowe, the series starred Greg Evigan. The series was produced when the ...

'' (1 episode, 1980) .... Dr. Robert Asten * ''Emerald Point N.A.S.'' (1 episode, 1983) .... Admiral Lovell * ''

Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal fl ...

'' (1 episode, 1986) .... Lewis Gordon * ''

'' (1 episode, 1987) .... Dr. Cliff Strayhorn * ''

Airwolf ''Airwolf'' is an American action military drama television series. It centers on a high-technology attack helicopter, code-named '' Airwolf'', and its crew. They undertake various exotic missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War the ...

'' (1 episode, 1987) .... Dr. Kinsington * '' Santa Barbara'' (unknown episodes, 1990–1991) .... Dr. Grant Jameson * '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1993, episode: " Suspicions") .... Dr. Christopher (final appearance)

References

External links

*
Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragin, John S. 1929 births 2013 deaths American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Male actors from Newark, New Jersey